This invention relates generally to mail handling systems, and more particularly, to a system and method for processing business reply mail in an efficient manner to obtain the information contained therein.
Many companies and private concerns use business reply mail to solicit information and responses from the recipients of the business reply mail. As such, business reply mail has a wide variety of uses and is often customized depending upon the needs of the sender. A few examples of the uses for business reply mail are subscription solicitations, information request responses, proxy statement responses, remittance documents (invoices for payment due) and the like. Oftentimes, the business reply mail is provided to recipients as part of a direct mail campaign, an invoice or as a detachable insert in a periodical magazine or newsletter.
In a large business reply mail communication program, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of pieces may be distributed. This means that eventually these business reply mail pieces must be received and processed. Typically, some smaller companies cannot afford or justify the cost of automated systems to collect and process the business reply mail because such systems may have long idle periods. Therefore, these companies utilize manual techniques for the handling of the business reply mail and the associated data entry. The result is a time consuming and costly process that is susceptible to human error. On the other hand, large companies expend considerable resources using dedicated equipment that has been customized for a particular business reply mail processing application. Although these systems work generally well, they are not flexible to accommodate the needs of different business reply mail processing applications and require manual pre-sorting of the business reply mail into batches of like kind prior to processing. This is particularly cumbersome and inefficient when it is desired that each business reply mail piece be processed the very same day that it is received.
Therefore, the large volume of business reply mail handled today has created the need for improved systems capable of processing large volumes of business reply mail to rapidly acquire the information that each reply mail piece contains and initiate appropriate follow up activity. Furthermore, there is a need for a flexible system that can accommodate the requirements of different business reply mail processing applications without undue costs and delays due to customization and setup.
The present invention provides a business reply mail processing system, a method of processing business reply mail and a data structure for use in processing business reply mail. Generally, this is accomplished by organizing information associated with different mail campaigns into respective job data sets and using the job data sets to process the business reply mail pieces.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a business reply mail processing system that includes a transport module, a scanner module and a control module in operative communication with the scanner module. The transport module feeds a business reply mail piece in a path of travel. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the business reply mail piece includes a job ID code and field data. The scanner module is located adjacent to the path of travel for scanning the business reply mail piece to read the job ID code and the field data. The control module includes a mail campaign job database. The control module uses the job ID code, scanned from the business reply mail piece, to access processing data from the mail campaign job database corresponding to the job ID code and controls the scanner module using the processing data to read the field data from the business reply mail piece.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the business reply mail piece includes processing data and field data. The scanner module scans the business reply mail piece to read the processing data. The processing data is passed to the control module, which utilizes the processing data to control the scanner module to then read the field data from the business reply mail piece.
In accordance with the present invention, methods of operating the business reply mail processing system, a data structure (memory device) and a business reply mail piece are also provided.
Therefore, it is now apparent that the present invention substantially overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior art. Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.